As goes Ohio: Economic changes in the heartland

Maybe you think of my Ohio as an industrial state: steel, rubber, cars. But not any more. The top 14 employers in the state are health care providers, retailers and a bank. Wal-Mart is at the top of the list, 52,000 Buckeyes strong. Oh, for the days of Goodyear, Republic Steel and NCR.

People who cross Ohio on their way west by car or train usually remember the plains of northwest Ohio, a sea of bean and corn fields that continues west for a thousand miles. Today, though, only 74,000 Ohioans farm for a living, a number that continues to dwindle.